Blood Release
by SUITELIFEFAN
Summary: Angry tears streamed down his cheeks as he killed man after man after man, feeling their blood run through his mother's sand. This time, he wasn't doing it for bloodlust or joy. He was doing it for the sake of the little blond-haired jinchuuriki lying unconscious on the ground behind him. Reviews Appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Blood Release - Chapter 1**

His knees were already shaking violently as he slowly squatted down next to the boy, not caring that his white pants were being dirtied, or that the long shawl wrapped around his neck was touching the ground. As he raised a hand and placed it on the blond's arm and felt the boy's body trembling beneath his touch, he felt a shiver of raw emotion that he couldn't quite place a finger on. After all, Gaara had never been very perceptive about his own temperament. Years of hatred and rejection, and the presence of Shukaku within himself, had blended fear, sadness, and rage into a lethal concoction within his fragile thirteen-year-old mind, making the separate emotions nearly undecipherable from each other. This time, however, one of the three was slowly winning out over the others.

Then, a new feeling arose in his chest. He had never felt this one before. It was warm and light, but somehow cold and heavy at the same time. He watched as Naruto mumbled incoherently, blood still leaking from the wounds all over his body. Naruto was strong, he knew that. He was the first one who had beat him in a fight, after all. He knew that he could defend himself. So why hadn't he? And what was up with all the men standing around them? Is this what Naruto had to face every single day? Gaara was a jinchuuriki too. So why was it that he was feared back in Sunagakure, while Naruto _felt_ fear here in Konohagure? Didn't Naruto say that he understood Gaara's pain? So why was it that Gaara couldn't understand _his_ pain?

It had been three months since Gaara's first visit and return from Konohagure. He had wasted none of that trying to come to terms with the demon racoon hiding deep within him. It had been an uphill battle, and even now Gaara didn't have proper control over the monster, but his bloodlust, in the wake of Naruto's declaration of empathy and his desire to protect his friends, had waned significantly. He was still as tired as ever, Shukaku tormenting him endlessly in the night with nightmares even whilst he was forcing himself awake, but something had changed in the red-haired boy. That change was, perhaps, most clear to his siblings. The new Gaara no longer threw death threats at them, or inexplicably crushed people with his sand coffins, or persistently spoke to "mother".

It seemed that Uzumaki Naruto, the one person who had thus far defeated Gaara in battle and broken the barriers that he had erected around his mind, was also the one person whose presence could set Gaara off, in more ways than one.

He bit his lip. Hard. Tasted his own blood in his mouth as his teeth penetrated the thin layer of sand covering every inch of his body. He moved his hand from the boy's arm to his face. Watched as the boy whimpered visibly at his touch and squeaked out a small plea to stop hurting him. Felt his heart clench at the sight of his first friend in such a vulnerable state. Glared at the men who were standing around them, their sticks still stained with blood, some looking apprehensive at the appearance of an unfamiliar red-haired child and some still looking like they were having the time of their life beating up on an innocent boy.

Shukaku growled menacingly inside him, speaking to him in cruel, evil whispers. Mother was hungry. She wanted to see blood. No, mother, I can't. I made Naruto a promise. Well look at him, boy. Look at him now. See what state his stupid, idealistic ways have gotten him. Look at him all bruised and bleeding. You know what to do brat, you know how to fix things. There's so much blood on him, so much blood. Stop shaking, you useless little thing. The annoying fox kid is your friend, right? Do something for him then, you brat.

Naruto's head then lolled to the side. He had passed out.

The men surrounding them stepped forward, looking excited to proceed with committing whatever unspeakable acts to the completely defenceless blond boy, only to step back hesitantly when the redhead standing over their victim raised his eyes in their direction, his eyes glowing red with barely restrained anger, the air around him suddenly rife with raw killing intent. The men were too entranced by Gaara's eyes, seemingly enlarged by the dark rings of black encircling them, to realise that not only was the cork of the gourd on his back absent, but that sand had slowly snaked its way across the ground and puddled around their legs.

One of the men ventured a shout.

"Oi! Boy! Stay out of this if you know what's good for ya!"

"...Mother is hungry..."

"Back away from the damned demon brat!"

Snap.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!"

Without warning, the door to the Hokage's office was forcibly pushed open, breaking up the meeting between Tsunade, the Godaime, and the acting Kazekage of the Sands that was occurring within it. The sudden interruption startled both village leaders, and Tsunade scowled as she threw a dirty look at the Leaf Chunnin responsible. It was testament to his already existing fear that he did not flinch at her anger.

"I specifically said that we were not to be interrupted!"

"Hokage-sama...we have a problem. The red-haired boy from the Sands, the one-tail jinchuuriki..."

Upon hearing his words, the Sands' ambassador shot to his feet, the alarm visible in his eyes. The temporary leader (upon the unfortunate death of their former Kazekage at the hands of Orochimaru) had brought along their village's little red-haired jinchuuriki and his siblings as part of his protection detail, fully aware of the fact that the jinchuuriki's presence would increase the temporary political standings that he had with the Hokage. Though the boy had mellowed somewhat after the incident of Orochimaru's attempted takeover of Konoha, his heart still seized every time the boy, feared by the people of his own country, was addressed as a subject.

It was unfortunate, but it seemed that the sound of Gaara's name inevitably brought about news of chaos.

"What has happened to Gaara?"

"Kazekage-sama...he's gone wild in one of the housing districts. From the reports that we've already obtained from bystanders, it appears that he's already killed a few civilians."

Tsunade sat unmoving for a moment, stunned into silence. She then rose from her own chair in panic and rage, her fist clenched in a threatening fashion, thoughts of past events and the death of the Sandaime, her sensei, already springing to her head. Though it was true that Tsunade was new to the title of Leader of the Leaf Village, and had gone into self-exile right up to the point where her return was requested by the village elders, there was no doubt that she took her new position very seriously.

"Dammit, Kazekage! Just three months ago the Sands attempted an invasion of Konoha under Orochimaru, and now this?! I don't even know why Sarutobi-sama wanted to ally with you people in the first place!"

The acting Kazekage couldn't help but take a step back upon seeing the murderous expression on Tsunade's face. It was unwise for any village leader to show weakness in front of his allies, but the man was inexperienced, and Tsunade's reputation as one of the legendary sannin transcended all political barriers.

"I assure you, Hokage, I am unaware of what Gaara is doing, and I had no malicious intentions when bringing him or coming down here-"

"Bullshit! That boy of yours just killed some of my citizens! How the hell are you going to answer for that!"

Another person then burst into the tiny office for the second time that day, abruptly pausing the brewing argument. She brought in a cloud of dust with her, and as it settled the stand-in Kazekage widened his eyes at the sight of one of his own Sand ninja, looking positively flustered and dreadfully worried, her hands clutching tightly onto the large fan that was usually slung carelessly on her back. The usually brave girl looked afraid, which didn't bode well for the situation.

"Temari-chan?"

The young girl looked up at her leader with teary eyes, and the ambassador immediately knew that what the Leaf Chunnin said was not only true, but was far worse in severity than he could have ever imagined.

"Kazekage-sama...Gaara-kun...he's undergone his partial transformation."

The Kazekage felt as though the floor had collapsed from under him. He struggled to maintain composure, but nearly fell to his knees at the thought of seeing _him_ again, and in his ally's village, of all places. Tsunade herself felt her blood run cold at the thought of another tailed demon running rampant through Konoha. She remembered the horrible stories of the nine-tailed demon fox and the resultant death of the Yondaime in an attempt to seal the demon. If the one-tail was about to be let loose, it would be the start of yet another horrible tragedy in Konoha's already blood-tainted historical timeline. Wheeling in her place, Tsunade spoke to the Chunnin with a voice trembling with anxiety and resolution.

"Get as many Chunnin and Jonin as you can to head towards the area. We need to stop this before the situation spirals out of control."

Without waiting for a reply, she then wrapped her hands around the wrists of the Kazekage and the girl who had barged into her office, practically dragging them out of the office with her.

"I don't know if you Sand people intended for this to happen, but for the sake of Sarutobi-sama's efforts, I'll believe you for now. I will _not_, however, allow your jinchuuriki to run rampant in our village. If need be, I'll need to subdue him, no matter the consequences. Do you understand, Kazekage?"

The Kazekage nodded weakly. Temari glanced in panic between the two Kages as she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest.

_Gaara..._

* * *

It was a sound so familiar and yet so horrific that Kankuro immediately did a double take and dropped his food onto the ground upon hearing the menacing roar, instinctively jumping to his feet and racing off in the direction of the sound, the oblivious shopkeeper owning the food store shouting at him to pay for his meal. It was a sound that Kankuro dreaded, and though he had only heard it twice before in his life, it was two times too many. Unstrapping Karasu from his back, Kankuro clenched his teeth in frustration as he quickened his pace. He knew that if Gaara had somehow, against all odds, transformed into Shukaku yet again, he would be nearly powerless to stop it, but he would have to try.

For his brother.

Kankuro was somewhat ashamed to admit to himself that both he and his older sister had, before the incident from months back, merely treated Gaara as a monster just like the rest of their village. It was hard not to, with Gaara's seemingly incessant need to kill and the constant threats against both his and Temari's lives, but Gaara wasn't the only person who had changed with their encounter with a certain fox-demon boy. The siblings witnessed their country's demon actually make an effort to become just their little brother again, and though the past few months were rife with awkward moments of affection where Gaara would suddenly feel the need to get a hug, or sit with them silently and watch as they worked on their ninja equipment, they were able to see a new side to Gaara, a side beneath the one-tailed demon that inhabited his body against his will.

Kankuro knew that Gaara transformed when he was under stress, and the thought that Gaara's transformation in Konohagure months ago was partly caused by years of neglect and stubborn selfishness on his and Temari's parts sent a clenching feeling of guilt into his heart. The fact remained that Gaara was their little brother, and was still practically a baby when it came down to emotional stability.

The puppet jutsu user could now smell a familiar faint tang of iron mixed with sand, which never bode well. He turned a corner, stopped abruptly, and nearly lost his half-eaten lunch in the process.

Blood, sand and corpses.

Everywhere.

Looking to and fro at the horror that adorned the housing district, Kankuro took cautious steps amidst dead bodies and screaming Konoha citizens towards what looked like a whirlwind of sand from a short distance away, all whilst shaking in his boots. A few Konoha ninja had already arrived at the scene, though from the looks of it, they were no match for the sheer power that the sand held. Kankuro then stopped when his sharp eyes caught sight of the cause of the miniature sandstorm, his throat seizing up instantly in fear.

_Fuck..._

Shukaku's half-transformation, for a person who had never seen it before, was a truly ghastly thing. Kankuro, despite the fact that he had seen Shukaku in his full unrestrained form before, was appalled whenever he saw sand clinging onto Gaara's side, with half the face of the demon racoon that terrorised Sunagakure, warping Gaara's emotionally weak personality and turning his little brother into a twisted remnant of his actual self. As the transformation became more and more complete, Gaara's personality eventually became lost into the demon's own, and as Kankuro watched Gaara's half-face twist into an expression of simultaneous rage and regret as he took control of his sand, he couldn't help but feel his brother's pain.

His gaze then brushed over the ground, and his heart plummeted at the sight of the boy who had beaten and changed Gaara, Uzumaki Naruto, lying comatose on the ground behind his brother.

_No fucking way..._

"Gaara!"

Kankuro didn't know if the thought that Gaara had actually killed the one person whom he admitted was a friend of his caused him to blurt out his brother's name in pointless desperation, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Gaara had actually heard him. As brother faced brother, Gaara bit his lip in agony, and Kankuro merely stared in shock the sight of tears streaming down one side of Gaara's face.

His baby brother was crying.

Gaara's face then turned dark, the sand changing its course and lashing out at Kankuro without warning. Eyes widening in shock at the sudden attack, Kankuro pushed Karasu forward to shield himself from the attack, only to be forced back as the sand hit his puppet with nearly enough strength to shatter it. Just by feeling the magnitude of the hit through his puppet alone, Kankuro could instantly tell that he wasn't facing off against Gaara, but _Shukaku_. He retreated a few steps and reeled his puppet in towards himself, only to realise that Gaara's sand had gotten into some of Karasu's joints, making it not only incapable of proper combat, but also a dangerous liability.

_Fuck fuck FUCK!_

But he knew that he was the only person in the immediate vicinity who had any idea of how to deal with Gaara's sand, and as he watched the devil's dust spread out across the ground and envelop more and more screaming civilians, Kankuro knew that as long as he was there, he would have to try.

For his brother.

* * *

**Author's Note - **I originally intended for this to be a one-shot, but weeks of procrastinating made me decide to split it into either two or three parts (depending on how my stamina holds out) to give me the needed push to finish it. I hope you all like it so far. Gaara's easily one of my favourite Naruto characters to write about, because of his backstory finding its core in loneliness, a truly horrible thing to experience. Unstable-Gaara gives me the greatest reach in terms of character dynamic, and I hope I did well enough with it here.

Reviews Appreciated.

~SUITELIFEFAN


	2. Chapter 2

**Blood Release - Chapter 2**

Pandemonium wasn't even a sufficient word to describe the chaos that was unfolding in Konoha on that very day. News of the sudden appearance of a child mass-murderer from the sands had reached the outer extremities of the villages within minutes, and as numerous evacuations were held in the areas closest to where the beast was going wild, numerous ninja who weren't already on missions outside the village were dispatched to the collective attempt to subdue the demon-boy. Their response, however, was limited by the veritable sandstorm that was shrouding their path to the demon, seemingly creating a massive wall of wind and sand that severely hindered them.

Tsunade stared in horror at the towering cloud of moving sand that blocked off the way to the blood-stricken living district, her expression turning darker and darker with every second that was wasted in dealing with the problem. She had never personally seen Sunagakure's own jinchuuriki before, and though she was already well acquainted with Konoha's own demon jailer and his undying determination, the chakra that she could sense emanating from one particularly strong source within the whirlwind stank of utmost evil, chilling her to the bone. There was no doubt in Tsunade's mind that the jinchuuriki, relations with the Sands be damned, would have to be taken care of immediately.

"We need to find way to get past all this sand."

"Temari-chan...you can use your fan, can't you?"

Temari flinched back when a severe set of eyes belonging to the Hokage landed on her after the Kazekage's simple question. It seemed that Tsunade was summoning nearly all of her willpower to not manhandle the teenage girl into doing what she wanted, but even under the intense, expectant half-glare, Temari kept her fists firmly clenched at her sides, her fan still tied onto her back, untouched. It was a very brave thing indeed, to show defiance to _any_ village leader, let alone one of the legendary sannin, but there was something that Temari had already promised herself she'd say on behalf of her little brother.

"I will clear the sand the best I can, Hokage-sama, but please promise me something first."

Tsunade looked like she was about to pop.

"What, WHAT?! Your country's jinchuuriki is the one causing the trouble. You're in no position to make demands!"

"This isn't a demand, Hokage-sama, it's a request! A request to do what you can to stop Gaara, but not to hurt him more than is necessary. His control over Shukaku is weak, but my little brother's a good person, and sometimes...Shukaku can overwhelm him. He hasn't slept a wink in nearly his entire life, Hokage-sama. No one can understand what he has shouldered alone. He's gone through so much even though he's so young...please, Hokage-sama, I beg you...please understand! Shukaku is the evil one...not Gaara!"

Temari didn't know when she had fallen to her knees and placed her head on the ground in a desperate plea, but the Hokage remained silent, merely staring down at the girl at her feet, her thoughts conflicted between forcing herself through the whirlwinds of sand and healing herself with her own powers right at that very moment and listening to the jinchuuriki's sister. The inexperienced stand-in Kazekage stood behind the two, unsure of what to do as he looked between the Hokage and one of his country's young elites.

Temari, her head lowered in front of a superior power, trembled with fear as she felt danger radiating off the strong woman whom she was imploring, but she didn't yield. She knew she couldn't.

For her brother.

* * *

It's fun, isn't it, boy? It's been a while since we've had fun like this. Shukaku, don't...you don't have my permission to- what permission, brat? You don't actually think you have the willpower needed to control me, do you? I'm Shukaku of the Sands, and I'm not to be caged by a weak seal and a stupid, weak imbecile. What do you think I am, some fucking pacifist angel? I want blood, brat, and if I want blood, I'll get it.

That's right, boy. Get angrier at me, get angrier at those men who are now useless heaps of crushed bone and flesh. I know your breaking point. Maybe you should just fall asleep so I can run free and wild. How about it, boy? Do that spell of fake sleep or whatever you called it when we were fighting the fox demon brat. Sleep is great. When you sleep you escape from your terrible life for a few fleeting hours. All that pathetic pain that you experience, the pain that makes you all annoyingly melodramatic all the time...it won't disturb you. How about it, Gaara? You're trying to restrain yourself, aren't you? Trying to prove to yourself that you're not a killer blinded by madness? You're not doing a very good job of it, let me tell you. Whoops...we missed that guy over there. Try again, boy.

...that's the stuff.

Shit, it's been a while since I've felt this much fun. And look over there...isn't that your older brother jumping around, trying to avoid the sand? He's seriously a weakling...I'd be embarrassed to be related to somebody who uses puppet jutsu, and who isn't even good at it in the first place. Maybe we should just kill him right now, Gaara. You'd like that wouldn't you? No point in shaking your head, little brat, I'm in you, and I can feel your resentment towards him and your sister for treating you like shit when you were younger. Wouldn't you like that, kid? Just wrapping him in sand and crushing the life out of him?

No?

Maybe we'll just maim him, then. That'd teach him a lesson, right?

And fucking stop crying out of one side of your face, you little shit. You're making us look bad.

* * *

It had taken a few sharp blows from Temari's fan and quick movement for the team of three to advance into the heart of the sand hurricane. Much like the eye of any ordinary wind-based natural disaster, its center was eerily calm, with barely a trace of sand whipping past their faces. All the sand in the epicenter of the sandstorm was instead pooled on the ground haphazardly, and when Tsunade set her eyes on the chaos that had been wrecked and the blood of her citizens staining the ground, she clenched her fists tight, her nails digging into her flesh and drawing crimson. She had promised the girl with the fan that she would exercise caution with her strength under the consideration that their jinchuuriki had very limited control over his own demon, but that was proving to be harder and harder with every glimpse she caught of blood on the streets.

She had found an avenue of similarity between their jinchuuriki and Naruto earlier on, and she respected the fact that it wasn't easy to have a demon permeating one's thoughts for the entirety of their life, but at the very least, Naruto had never ever_ killed_ anybody just because he had the Kyuubi in him.

The three immediately scanned the area for any sight of Gaara, and it didn't take much searching for one of them to direct their eyes to the rooftops and spot a half-transformed Shukaku nosily pouncing from roof to roof, breaking large holes in ceilings with the weight of its sand. Tsunade squinted her eyes in disbelief as she took in the sight of what looked like a mass of sand sprouting animalistic features menacingly clinging onto a red-headed boy, the sand slowly spreading over to the other side of the boy's exposed body with every second that passed. The most frightening thing was the fact that she couldn't immediately tell which of the two was actually in control. The other two in the group's reactions were far more dramatic, the Kazekage gasping for air at the familiar sight of his country's demon in its partially exposed form, Temari dropping her fan onto the ground in shock as tears sprung to her eyes, her head shaking rapidly from side to side as she tried desperately to erase the sight from current reality.

"Gaara...no, no, no no no..."

The half-demon caught sight of the party of three. Growling a little with obvious bloodlust, it made a massive leap from the tallest building in the district, landing softly on the ground, the three jumping a little at the shock of seeing Shukaku catch their eyes. The demon was still a sizeable distance away from the trio and didn't seem to pose an immediate threat, but they could see its bloodthirstiness almost fogging up the air around it. Tsunade then caught sight of something lying on the ground close to Shukaku, and almost instantly, her feelings of anger were instantly ditched for fear. The body lying on the ground motionless had bright yellow hair and was wearing what looked like an orange jumpsuit. As far as Tsunade was aware of, only one person in the whole of Konoha would be caught dead wearing that bright a shade of orange in public. That person happened to be a young boy whom she had gifted the Shodai's necklace to as a token of her faith for the supposed bright future of Konoha's youth.

"NARUTO!"

At that exact same moment, Temari's gaze flashed in the opposite direction, catching sight of what looked like a familiar black costume, torn and tattered, dropped unceremoniously next to one of her brother's battle puppets, broken and plainly unusable. The optimistic part of her brain was trying desperately to convince her that her worst fears were unfounded, but the rational part of her brain was desperately pulling her slowly in the direction of the person lying unconscious on the ground, not caring about her own safety as her path brought her alarmingly close to a huffing and grunting Shukaku, her legs picking up pace as her world fell apart around her.

"KANKURO!"

The two women dashed off at top speed in opposite directions to the situation that demanded their immediate concern. Shukaku looked ferociously between the two targets that had suddenly taken shape, seemingly deciding which target to pick in its hunger. Even animals had an instinctive awareness of the tradeoff between battle and danger, and between the frail-looking youngster and the menacing looking middle-aged woman, it was glaringly obvious which of the two was the easier source of blood. With a guttural roar, Shukaku released a whip of sand from its body and lashed out vehemently.

Temari froze in her step at the sound of Shukaku's blood curdling roar. As she watched sand flying towards her, she instinctively reached behind her back to retrieve her weapon, only to grasp at air. Only then did she realise that she had left her fan on the ground a significant distance away in her haste to reach her other brother. The sand whip hit her unprotected cheek, leaving behind a massive gash on her flawless complexion and sending her flying, the girl crashing painfully into a wall and landing sprawled on the ground, breathless at the realisation of what had just occurred.

She and Kankuro had spent the entirety of their childhoods fleeing from their younger brother and bonding over the fact that they were both terrified by him. It was thanks to a lot of tact during Gaara's most tumultuous emotional periods that they had, despite their fear, never actually been hurt physically by Gaara and his sand in any way, regardless of his threats. Tears streamed freely down Temari's cheeks as she shakily raised her hand to her fresh wound, her legs lying unmoving next to her as she silently watched Shukaku harness even more of its sand and prepare to strike her yet again, wondering if she was being punished for her lack of understanding and affection that she, as the eldest of the siblings, had failed to grant her own baby brother.

If it weren't for the surprise intervention, Temari would surely have died that day.

Just as Shukaku was about to throw out its sand and strike the girl straight through her chest, a hand suddenly wrapped itself around one of Shukaku's limbs. The demon froze at the sudden contact, and when two arms wrapped themselves around Shukaku's, no, _Gaara's_ torso, and a tiny chin rested itself on a sandy shoulder, time stopped.

A whisper.

"Gaara...don't."

Gaara tried to say something, but merely choked out a pained sob of simultaneous agony and relief.

"Don't listen to him, Gaara. I know you're strong."

"I can't...he's even stronger..."

"He's not, Gaara. You can control him. Please try. For me."

Everyone watched as the sand clinging onto the side of Gaara's body appeared to slowly slip off his small frame, with much angry growling and shrill shrieking from the side of his body that maintained the demon's consciousness. All throughout the process, Naruto never once took his arms off his friend, hugging him tightly to his own bruised and bloodied body, not caring that he was aching all over and probably needed medical attention, or that the sand demon might suddenly turn and strike out at the reason for it being re-caged. In his mind, all that mattered was that Gaara return to a state where he could actually think for himself again.

He instinctively knew what had happened, to a slight degree. It wouldn't have been impossible for Gaara to find him in the state that the angry villagers had left him in. He cursed himself for being careless. He had known that the party from the sand would be arriving on that day, after all, and he always knew that his birthday, also the anniversary of the day where the Kyuubi wrecked havoc on the village, was a bitter and vengeful one for the villagers of Konoha. He always knew that they looked for him to take out their anger on the demon's container particularly on this day than any other in the year, but being the blindly optimistic and careless boy that he was, he never cared.

Naruto shut his eyes in regret.

Gaara then went limp in his hands, and Naruto knew that the seal was back in place. Struggling a little with the weight of a boy that equalled his own, Naruto let Gaara fall backwards into his waiting arms, crouching down as he rested Gaara's red head on his knee. Realising that his eyes were stinging a little, he bravely chalked it up to the sand in the air, sniffling a little as he raised his friend into a more comfortable position. Shukaku would lay dormant for the next few hours, and Naruto couldn't help but grin a little amidst his tears as he watched Gaara's sleeping features. He looked far more peaceful than Naruto had ever seen him.

He saw Tsunade slowly approaching him from the corner of his eye and clutched Gaara closer to himself protectively. Immediately he felt bad at the sight of the Hokage's slightly hurt expression. Undoubtedly she knew what was best for the country and for him, but he would defend his fellow jinchuuriki for his actions with all his might if he had to. At the very least, Tsunade didn't appear to want to do anything drastic at the moment. Silently speaking to Tsunade with his eyes alone and treating her nods and gestures as cues to proceed, Naruto picked up his friend and started walking, his arms straining from the effort but his mind clear. He saw Temari supporting a hurt but conscious Kankuro from a short distance away, and a massive weight lifted off his chest. He would never have been able to explain to Gaara that he had actually killed one of his blood siblings.

Slowly but surely, the small entourage made their towards Konoha's hospital. They were headed by a little blond-haired jinchuuriki, his equally little red-haired friend in a tight grasp in his arms.

* * *

**Author's Note** \- I had actually planned to leave this story right here and end it like this, thinking it would be much more poignant. But I later realised that there would be unsettled details and no actual point of reconciliation for the plot bunnies that I left hanging, so it's highly likely that I will write one final chapter to cap things off. I hope you all enjoyed this one, and if you did, please give my other Naruto works "Katsuobushi" (Naruto and Sasuke centric), "Disobedience" (Kakashi and Sasuke centric), "Break Me" (another Naruto and Gaara nakamaship) and "Candy" (my humorous attempt at a Naruto love triangle) some love if you haven't already.

Reviews Appreciated.

~SUITELIFEFAN


	3. Chapter 3

**Blood Release - Chapter 3**

"...I see."

Tsunade had undergone several massive scenario-affected mood swings from the start of her day. The meeting with the stand-in Kazekage had gone smoothly enough, aside from the fact that it was interrupted by harrowing news that sent her tension meter up to its limits. Now, as Tsunade sat in a hospital room and watched Shizune attend to wounds that belonged to a boy whom she had placed an unprecedented amount of faith in, there was a deep, sinking feeling in her heart that she couldn't quite identify. It felt like regret and shame, and stank with anger. Only this time, said anger wasn't directed at a certain red-headed child from the sands.

"So he didn't touch you, and he was trying to protect you from the people who were hurting you?"

"Yeah, Oba-chan. Eeeee! Shizune-san, it stings!"

Tsunade placed her head in her hands, absolutely appalled by what she was hearing. She had gone into self-exile from Konoha for an extremely long period of time and wasn't present for all of Naruto's childhood and the events that preceded it. It was for that reason that she was blind from the fact that he was treated poorly by the citizens of Konohagure. But what kind of excuse was that? Even if she took into consideration the fact that Naruto had never expressed any bitterness about his living situation with her, she was the _Hokage_, and if she couldn't do so small a thing as pay closer attention to the wellbeing of the boy who had wowed her with his undying spirit, then she had not only failed Naruto, but the entire village.

Blinking back sad and angry tears, Tsunade plastered on a false smile when she spoke again, determined to start fixing things from that very moment.

"Naruto...I'm going to make changes to your living arrangements. If it's not safe for you to stay in that living district, I'll move you to a place nearer to the town center where the large ninja clans are situated. I didn't know you were treated so badly even though you shouldered such a large burden for the sake of the village, and as the new Hokage...I'll do everything I can to make things right. And regarding the jinchuuriki from the Sands...I suppose I can't really place blame on him for what happened this afternoon-"

"His name is Gaara."

Naruto looked up at Tsunade with innocent but stern eyes, taking the Hokage by surprise.

"His name is Gaara, Tsunade-baachan, and he's my friend."

* * *

It was incredible what a few hours of desperately needed sleep could do for a boy who had barely rested in the entirety of his life, but when Gaara opened his eyes a mere four hours from the point where he had lost consciousness, he felt indescribably refreshed. Taking a few seconds to wonder at the foreign, pleasant numbness that ran through his body, Gaara's ninja skills kicked in as he turned his head from side to side, taking in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he was in some sort of hospital room, with typical white sheets, walls and ceilings. The second thing he noticed was that there was somebody crouching on a chair on the opposite corner of the room. The image was so eccentric that Gaara did a double take before flinching wildly and nearly falling out of his bed. He immediate tried to sense his gourd of sand, but to no avail.

"Calm down, Gaara-kun. I mean you no harm."

A little disarmed by the feeling of nakedness that he felt with not having his weapon by his side, Gaara recognised the man from the Chūnin exams that he and his siblings had participated in months ago, and though he was at that time fixated on killing people to be too distracted by the presence of others around him, it was difficult to erase the image of the only man he had even seen permanently wear a mask over his nose and mouth from his mind.

"You're...Naruto's sensei."

Kakashi flashed Gaara a bright smile, which he could only tell was present from the sudden curvature of his eyes.

"I see you remember me. How are you feeling?"

Gaara couldn't help but feel a little suspicious about Kakashi's seemingly well-meant question.

"I'm...okay. Where's Naruto?"

"I thought you might ask. The Hokage insisted that Naruto get medical treatment for himself for the cuts and bruises he sustained. The Kyuubi residing within him usually takes care of the rest. He should be here in a few minutes."

Gaara's eyes widened at Kakashi's words, and as memories of what had occurred before he passed out flashed back into his memory, he felt his teeth involuntarily clenching in abject horror. In his mind's eye, he vaguely remembered seeing Kankuro and Temari and lashing out at them with sand that felt beyond his control. He had threatened to hurt them in the past, but he had never actually done it before. Hands shaking from shame and worry at their conditions, Gaara's mind then refocused on the cause of his partial transformation, and his brow furrowed at the reminder of Konoha villagers standing over Naruto, bruised, bloodied and comatose. Hey there, little brat. We were so close, weren't we? Damn...maybe you could try sleeping again? It really did feel good didn't it? One more time, brat, one more-

Gaara then gasped when he felt a strong hand clutch his arm and squeeze tightly, somehow bypassing the thin layer of sand that covered his skin and inflicting pain that, aside from a momentary sting, wasn't actually strong enough to leave any marks aside from perhaps a faint bruising. Gaara shot back into his own consciousness and looked at Kakashi, who had somehow teleported from the opposite side of the room to his bedside and was grabbing his arm, his exposed eye looking almost bored as he stared into Gaara's own.

Shukaku had stopped talking.

"I can't have you transforming on me, Gaara-kun. I would politely ask that you refrain from having thoughts that permeate your consciousness, if that's possible. I should have mentioned this when you first woke, but I've been assigned to stay here and ensure that the one-tail doesn't get loose and kill everyone in this hospital. I don't want to take any action on one of Naruto's friends, but if I absolutely have to, I will."

Gaara honestly had no intention of letting Shukaku have the reins again, but he had to admit that having the man who taught a certain Uchiha Sasuke the one technique that broke through his sand sphere in a single blow and draw his blood stare him down was a very good deterrent indeed. Realising from his almost guilty facial expression that the jinchuuriki honestly didn't want to be controlled again, Kakashi's face morphed back into his previous happy smile as he playfully placed a hand on Gaara's head and ruffled his short hair, his grin growing even wider when the affronted redhead practically growled at him in a way that reminded him of how his very own Sasuke-kun would react when he tried to pull the same stunt on him.

"You'll be glad to know that the Hokage has, after hearing what Naruto said about you defending him from harm and making considerations on the unpredictability of Shukaku of the Sands, decided to not place any blame on you and Sunagakure. The incident from this afternoon will be addressed by the Hokage to the common folk as a tragic incident with no further elaboration, though she insists that you gain better control over the one-tail to ensure that she would never have to do a cover-up like this one again."

"I don't care."

Kakashi wasn't exactly surprised by Gaara's rudeness. From what he remembered of the boy from the Chūnin exams, he wasn't exactly what one would call a "ray of sunshine".

"How are Kankuro and Temari? Their conditions are of immediate concern to me. Nothing else matters."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this.

"From what I learnt from the doctors, Temari-chan sustained a single cut to her cheek, which though large wasn't very deep and won't even leave a scar. Kankuro-kun's condition was more serious, as he sustained a broken leg and few gashes on his body, but he's already been patched up. The nurses are optimistic about his leg being fully recovered after about a month or so."

Gaara felt nearly all of the tension in his body leave him as he breathed a massive sigh of relief. Throwing death threats at his siblings was one thing, actually hurting them after months of trying to get closer to them was another really, really, _really_ bad thing altogether. He stared back down at his hands, conflicted. Never had he expected that Shukaku would pervade his consciousness a mere three months since the last incident, and if he had been so easily set off by the mere sight of something that he didn't like, it was now very clear to him that his efforts to restrain the demon within him were futile. He was still weak as ever.

And he still didn't understand Naruto. He was clearly disliked in the village, so why had he not fought back when he was attacked by mere citizens who were armed with such banal weapons like sticks and stones? Gaara knew that he would have killed the men in an instant if he had been in Naruto's place, but Naruto had not only taken their beating, but had stepped in to defend them even though he was injured. What kind of logic was that? How was it possible for someone to survive in a world that treated him like shit when he clearly didn't deserve it, and flash said world a smile whenever they ganged up on him?

Gaara had spent so long contemplating the differences between Naruto and himself that he didn't even notice when the door to the room slid open, Kakashi greeting the visitor affectionately before slipping out of the room. The next thing Gaara knew was the sudden depression on the lower part of his bed, and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Naruto sitting cross-legged opposite him on the bed, grinning like a madman.

"Gaara! You're awake!"

"...Naruto."

"You really scared me there, Gaara. I really didn't want to see the jackass racoon again! Tsunade-baachan was really angry with you for everything, but I explained what happened and how you tried to protect me, so she's okay with it. Thank you so much!"

Naruto's smile was so bright that Gaara was nearly dazzled by its glow, and the feeling of bewilderment in his chest increased twofold. It was clear by the look in his eyes and the radiance of Naruto's smile that the events of the past few hours had nearly been entirely forgotten. Did he not even remember how he had gotten hurt? The idea that Naruto was merely grateful to him for protecting him and uncaring about the treachery of the villagers for beating him sent a warmth through Gaara's heart at the thought that his actions were appreciated, but also conflicted strongly with the inner turmoil that he been dealing with since he had awakened. Naruto, deceptively perceptive despite his silly exterior, caught onto Gaara's perturbed mood instantly.

"Gaara...are you okay?"

Gaara hugged his knees to his chest, something he wouldn't have done with other people in the room so as to avoid looking vulnerable, but Naruto just had that effect of ease on him.

"Naruto, why aren't you...angry?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side quizzically.

"Angry about what?"

"Angry about everything. About how those men beat you up for no reason, or how your Hokage didn't even bother to take precautions for your protection, or how everybody seems to be mad at you even though you didn't do anything wrong."

Gaara head sank lower into his knees.

"I'm angry all the time back in Suna."

Naruto stayed silent for a minute, pondering Gaara's question. Gaara waited almost impatiently, desperate to hear what Naruto had to say. His entire existence, and the life he had lived under the shelter of the concept of self-love, hung on the balance. Naruto had been the first one to breach his shelter three months ago by stating that he understood Gaara's pain, something that nobody had ever been able to say to him before. But of course, doubts still lingered. And after witnessing the truth of how badly Konoha treated their jinchuuriki, the answer that Gaara wanted would possibly change his perspective on how he perceived others and himself entirely.

It sounded great in concept, but in reality, Gaara was given an answer that completely confused him.

"I'm not angry because they don't understand."

Naruto continued speaking, oblivious to Gaara's perplexity.

"They're angry with me because of what they know, but don't truly understand. Years ago a demon fox that wrecked havoc on Konoha destroyed half the city and killed countless people, and was then sealed into me. There are still scars that exist in the people alive today, and I suppose I'm a perpetual reminder to some of them of the devastation from years back. It's not exactly abnormal for them to hate me because I house the demon that killed their friends and family. I know it might seem obvious that I wasn't the one who did all that, but when people are reminded of their scars, they get angry, and anger warps understanding. But I can't blame them for their anger, because it's not a crime to not understand!"

Gaara bit his lip. Naruto casually scratched at one of his bandages, seemingly unaware of the resolution he had placed into his last line.

"Tsunade-baachan is new to the job. She really wants to try and fix things now I've explained everything to her, which is great, but I can't really blame her for not doing anything before this. It's hard to take on such a high ranking new post...she has hundreds of other people to worry about, not just me. It would be selfish of me to expect special treatment...otherwise I wouldn't be worthy of being the future Hokage!"

Naruto wrapped up his short speech with an enthusiastic punch into the air. Gaara merely stared, unsure of what to say. His first friend firmly believed that the villagers' resentment was the cause of the ignorance, and he was willing to look past all that. Even after all the hatred and the pain, Naruto still wanted to become Hokage and lead the people who despised him one day. He himself lived in Sunagakure feared by the people around him, but was never once attacked meaninglessly on the streets. Gaara felt the same kind of loneliness that Naruto also felt, but he was at the very least spared from physical hurt.

So how could he complain?

Watching Naruto chattering on animatedly about some casual topic, Gaara couldn't help but smile. He had seen what Naruto had told him during their last encountered about feeling his pain with his own eyes today, and learnt that Naruto actually endured far worser pain that he did. If Naruto could endure so much and still have so much resolution in him to forgive people for their shortcomings, he would have to be able to do so as well if he wanted to become stronger.

He simply sat there as Naruto talked, a perfect listener.

The two boys were so engrossed in their conversation that neither noticed two sets of eyes peaking into the room before quietly shutting the door. Temari and Kankuro tiptoed away silently, not wanting to interrupt their baby brother and his friend. Despite the wounds they had sustained, it appeared that Gaara had made some significant progress on the road towards sanity. They knew he might never be truly mentally healthy because of Shukaku, but that little blond brat from Konoha appeared to have some kind of introspective effect on Gaara. Perhaps it'd be a good idea to make more trips to the Leaf village so that the two could remain in contact, if the Hokage would allow it.

They both remembered what the silver-haired ninja had told them after exiting Gaara's room, about how Gaara had actually been concerned about their wellbeing. Brother and sister caught each other's eye, and smiled. They had apparently found another point of agreement between them regarding their little brother besides their fear of him.

Perhaps losing a little blood and getting scratched a little was a small price to pay for Gaara's sanity.

* * *

**Author's Note - **I personally feel that my greatest flaw with regards to my fictional writing is my tendency to apply overly formal writing techniques, making my paragraphs and sentences sometimes seem rigid. This was perhaps most evident in this chapter. Parts I wanted to lengthen were too concise during my proofreading, and I couldn't help but feel that that led to slight loss in emotional strength. Regardless, what you've read here is the essence of what I planned to convey, and that's perhaps the most important thing.

Reviews Appreciated, and thank you all for reading.

~SUITELIFEFAN


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